Full mobilization of state-of-the-art weapons and intelligence
Egypt Arbitrated Truce Negotiations Suspended
Clashes between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad are intensifying. Israeli forces continued bombing the Gaza Strip for the third day, killing two more Islamic Jihad commanders. Ceasefire negotiations, which had been mediated by Egypt, were also suspended. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that he would continue the offensive by mobilizing state-of-the-art weapons and intelligence to force Islamic Jihad.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time) that “Egypt and the United Nations are seeking a truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad,” but “the dialogue has been suspended as Israel continues to kill high-ranking Islamic Jihad officials.” did. In fact, the Israeli army announced that it had struck the southern Gaza Strip earlier this morning and killed Ali Hassan Muhammad Ghali, commander of the Islamic Jihad Rocket Force. The Israeli military said in a statement that “the deceased Ghali was a key figure in Islamic Jihad and was deeply involved in the recent rocket launch against Israel.”
Later in the afternoon, Ahmed Abu Dhaqa, deputy commander of the Islamic Jihad Rocket Unit, was also killed in an Israeli attack. The Palestinian Ministry of Health officially confirmed the deaths of two Islamic Jihad commanders, claiming that “four people, including women and children, were also injured.”
The conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad was triggered by the death of Kader Adnan, a key figure in Islamic Jihad, on the 2nd of the month after an 86-day hunger strike in an Israeli prison. At the time, it ended with a one-off engagement between the two sides, but Prime Minister Netanyahu, who received strong demands from far-right forces, launched an attack on the Gaza Strip on the 9th, and has been exchanging battles for the third day.
Islamic Jihad is the second largest anti-Israel group after Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip. According to CNN, Islamic Jihad has launched about 800 rockets into Israel since the 9th.
However, Israel is completely blocking Islamic Jihad attacks with its state-of-the-art defense system. In particular, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the low-altitude air defense system Iron Dome, which the West had persistently requested support from, was actually deployed, and David’s Sling, a mid-to-long-range air defense system, was introduced. According to the Washington Post (WP), Israeli forces intercepted most of the rockets fired by Islamic Jihad in the air. Officially tallied Israeli damage was only one elderly man killed by an artillery shell south of Tel Aviv.
Here, Israel is mobilizing all of its intelligence, which boasts the world’s best. Admiral Daniel Hagar, a spokesman for the Israeli army, explained the operation to kill Gali that day, saying, “The intelligence agency Shin Bet’s information was very helpful.” Israeli forces also conducted operations not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, arresting 25 Islamic Jihadists.
On the other hand, in Islamic Jihad, a total of five high-ranking officials, including two commanders who died that day, lost their lives, and the cumulative death toll rose to 30. The Palestinian side accused Israel of saying that at least five women and five children were among the dead.
The truce became distant. Islamic Jihad put forward the return of Adnan’s body and the end of the assassination of high-ranking officials as conditions for a truce, but Israel is in the position that it has not even begun. Prime Minister Netanyahu threatened, “Anyone who wants to harm us will have to give up his life,” while Eliezer Toledano, commander of the southern Israeli army, said, “More Islamic Jihad commanders must be killed for the enemy to realize the horrors of our operation.” I will do it,” he raised his voice.
Meanwhile, according to CNN, the Israeli military issued its first message of apology on the same day in connection with the shooting death of Qatar’s state-run Al-Jazeera reporter Sirin Abu Akle a year ago. In May of last year, Akle was shot and killed while covering a refugee camp in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank of Palestine. The Israeli government has so far acknowledged that Akle may have been shot dead by Israeli forces, but maintained the view that it could not be confirmed that he was a journalist at the time of the incident.
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2023-05-12 05:35:00
